Jessica Zar of Skyrim: The Lost Journals
by Jessica Zar
Summary: The adventures of Jessica Zar of Skrim as taken from her personal Journals.


**Jessica Zar Journal**

Now that I have gotten a new journal book and some time to write in it, I want to write while the experiences are fresh in my mind. My other journals, both business and personal cover my life up to now. Having built up the Trading Company to the point that I was ready to relocate and start creating my trade empire, we had taken our little caravan into the realm of Skyrim. Never again shall I have to hear my father's name. We had done some trading with the Imperial Soldiers at the border and met a group on the road that had bought mostly survival supplies. The business was already off to a good start and we were looking for a location to purchase a building and setup shop. After passing through a very small village, we found a good sized town right on the main roads. This looked like a good place to scout for a building. I asked some locals were was the best meal in town and they gave me directions to an Inn. What happens from here is an amazing tale about my experiences over the last couple of days. I will start at the seemly normal happening that started the chain of events that changed everything. I met a girl.

I met a truly lovely girl that had me feeling lust and desire like I haven't felt in some time. This girl was a vision with pale skin and light hair and a great body. Nords can be so exotic! She was working at the Inn that my company had stopped at for a good meal. I later learned that she was the daughter of the man that owned the large, nicely appointed Inn. Her name is Joldi.

I took as much time away from the other patrons of the Inn as I could by keeping Joldi at our tables. Her laughter was like a soft bird song. I had to have this girl!

The meal was one of the best that I had ever had. I booked the company at the Inn for the next two nights. This Inn was nicer than I would usually put the company into and Raccan, Kalort and Ennah were so surprised when they heard me making the arrangements. They didn't say anything of course, because they were going to take advantage of this rare treat. After months on the road, they deserved the accommodations and there was a secure stable and storage areas for the carriages and our inventory but the main reason was that I just couldn't leave Joldi.

I told Raccan to secure the company for two days. Raccan told Kalort to see to the inventory and carriages. He then told Ennah to secure our animals. I said that when everything was secure then they could have the remainder of the night off. I tossed a bag of coin to Raccan and told him to get meals for the hired hands. He said that he would see to it and the three of them got up to attend to the tasks. I asked Joldi to sit next to me.

I spent the evening talking with Joldi. She was well spoken and the conversation was light and interesting. Her father interrupted a couple of times but seemed to be hurt when she told him that she was now on her own time and that she desired some enjoyment just like he did. From the way they looked at each other, I knew that there was some kind of a sore spot between them but she didn't remark about it.

The only other interruption that Joldi and I had was when a man came over and stood by our table without saying anything. Joldi simply looked up at him and said, "Some other night." He made no attempt to hide his dislike of her words but didn't say anything and left.

It had been such a long time since I had been with such a delightful and charming woman. It was like we were both under the same spell. Our touching and talking was so intense that the rest of the world was gone and there was just the two of us.

I asked for a late night snack in my room and she offered to delivery it. Something sweet, I told her, thinking that anything that she would bring would not be as sweet as her.

Upon opening the door of my room in response to the knock on it, I beheld a sight that took my breath. Joldi was stunning! She had on a thin white dress that followed every delightful curve of her body. I could see her nipples through the fabric. Her hair was long and free. In her hands was a platter of sweets. I was speechless until Joldi smiled, looked me in the eyes and said, "I hope that I have something that you want".

The love making was everything that I had been dreaming of. Joldi was a passionate and giving lover with times of great excitement and also loving tenderness. Never have I been so aroused and satisfied! It was very late into the night when our love making stopped and we, lay embraced.

Joldi looked at the full platter of sweets and said, "Were the sweets to your liking?" She took a sweet roll from the platter and turned to me. I looked her in the eyes and said, "The sweets were extremely satisfying". I took the sweet roll and we both laughed joyfully.

Spotting my lute leaning against the wall, Joldi asked me to play her something. It was very thoughtful of Kalort to have put it here when he brought and arranged my belongings. I had just started to say something when the building shock so hard that dust was falling from the rafters and a deep sound like a hundred trees falling all at once vibrated through the room. Joldi and I sprang out of bed.

We quickly dressed and stepped out into the hall. I was locking the door when a man came running toward us. He shouted, "Fire, FIRE". Joldi said, "My father, I must go!". I replied that I needed to see about my company. We ran opposite directions down the hall. I looked back and caught just a glance of Joldi as she ran around a corner.

I went to the room that was Raccan, Kalort and Ennah's. As I looked into the open door, I was shaken to my knees and heard the same kind of sound as before but much louder. There was a lot of smoke and light coming from the end of the hall. I ran there, turned the corner and stopped as quickly as I could with arms out to my sides and hands on the walls to steady myself.

The building ended just in front me. It reminded me of a house that I had once seen that was cut in half by a huge fallen tree, except here, everything was on fire. The roof was gone and I could see the dawn sky between the bellows of smoke and fire. The heat from the flames took my eyes from the sight and my mind to action.

I ran out through the flames and out into the yard. After getting my bearings I ran in the direction of the stables. Ennah was being dragged by Kalort from the burning stables. Kalort said, "This looks like a sword wound", pointing at his left shoulder and continued, "He told me that a man said we were Stormcloak allies". Kalort and I carried Ennah farther out in the yard, far enough that the heat of the flames was less. I looked to the stables and saw it completely engulfed in flames. It was already too late to save any of our horses. Kalort had a bleeding cut on his head and I asked if he was alright. "It is nothing." He said.

"Where is Raccan?", I asked. "He went to find a Tavern.", Kalort replied. I told him to stay and care for Ennah. I hoped the young man wouldn't die but he looked in bad shape. He had made such a plea for me to hire him and had since worked as well as he could without complaint even though none of the guys really wanted to leave Hammerfell. He was in good hands, there was no one better than Kalort with medical concerns.

I turned and looked at the storage units and the Inn. The walls of the storage units were falling in. The company's inventory was being reduced to ashes. The flames seemed to have an intensity and life of their own that I have never seen in a fire before. The heat was incredible. I ran toward the remaining half of the Inn that was not on fire. I saw Joldi's father and several men close to the edge of the fire by the place that I had escaped from, forming a water bucket line.

Raccan came running towards me, on the yard, as I was heading to Joldi's father. I could tell that he had been drinking and had not slept. We both grabbed water buckets from the line. I asked about Joldi and her father said that he had sent her with friends and that she was safe. Raccan and I assisted with the firefighting.

Many towns' folk came to aid. It was a very hard fought battle and we managed to separate the burning half of the Inn from the other half and wet it down. The fire burned so hot and quickly that it burned itself down in a short amount of time. It was so hot that the ground melted holes in my boots and I had to discard them and wrap my feet in strips of cloth. In the end, we had saved half of the Inn. The other half was completely destroyed. Nothing remained but scorched earth. Even most of the rock foundation had melted away.

Raccan and I joined Kalort and Ennah in the yard in front of what had been the stables. It was good to see that Ennah was awake and somewhat responsive. We were all completely exhausted and helped each other to our feet. "We must rest.", I said to them as we headed toward the Inn.

Our attention was diverted by noise from the road. There was a group of Imperial soldiers pushing along and laughing at a man with bound hands. As the group got closer we saw that behind them was being pulled one of our sturdy pack horses. Before I could stop him, Raccan shouted, "Hey that is our horse". I motioned to Kalort to continue to the Inn with Ennah.

One of the soldiers walked out of the group as they stopped and met Raccan and I on the side of the road. The soldier said that they had caught this man stealing the horse at a local Tavern and that was some distance down the road. He wanted to know if Raccan could prove it was his horse. Raccan said, "That is our brand on its ass", for which I cut him a look that he knew all too well from his time in my employ meant to play nice. Raccan liked wine and women but had a real passion for weapons and fighting. It was the fighting part that I was letting him know to keep in check right now. Raccan stated in a tone that I knew to be his smartass tone and a little too loudly, "Well I am certainly glad that you fine soldiers are looking out for us poor traders. I am sure that this man was just helping to recover and return the horse to us knowing that we were busy firefighting".

The bound man yelled, "Yes, I admitted that the horse wasn't mine, I was just returning it to these people, who were bravely fighting the fire. I wasn't stealing it. You see this is all just a misunderstanding.". More soldiers had joined this group by coming from the opposite direction on the road. I had not seen this many Imperial soldiers before. There was not this many, even at the border when the company had crossed into Skyrim.

One soldier walked over to the one that Raccan and I was talking to. He ignored us and spoke directly to the soldier in front of him. "Move out and fall into position". The entire group with the horse thief and our horse started running down the road past the now very large second group. The commanding soldier turned away and headed back from where he came. Still he had not acknowledged Raccan or me. In one ear I heard Raccan yell, "Hey your taking our horse!". And at the same time in the other ear, I heard a voice from the group of soldiers that said, "That's her there!".

Looking to the direction of the voice I recognized the man from last night that stood by the table and never spoke. Beside him were three Elves. I could tell from their dress and manner that they were Thalmor. He had no trouble speaking now and said. "She is the one that I told you about assisting the Stormcloaks and starting this fire". One of the Elves nodded and a large group of soldiers ran toward us.

I quickly put my hand over Raccan's sword hand to stop him from completely unsheathing it, and as reminder to him that I was not armed. Some of the soldiers were already pulling their swords in response to Raccan. The Thalmor that nodded said, "Arrest her". I said in the nicest voice that I could to please give me a second to relief my charge. The Thalmor waved his hand at the soldiers. I leaned in close to Raccan and spoke quietly so that none would hear and said, "The company is no more. You are dismissed. See the guys safely to Hammerfell. GO NOW".

Raccan stood where he was and watched the soldiers search me, take the few belongings that I had on me and bind my hands. I didn't know if he would listen to me or pull his sword. As the soldiers were pulling me away, I was relieved to see Raccan push his sword completely into the sheath then turn and look up the yard to the Inn. I followed his look up to the Inn. I saw Kalort and Ennah by the ragged edge of the Inn being pulled inside by Joldi.

I was taken through the crowd of soldiers and put into a carriage with the horse thief. The carriage and all the soldiers instantly started moving down the road. I was exhausted and more passed out then went to sleep.

I heard the creaking of wood, carriage wheels on stone and the snort of a horse. Stretching my neck, I slowly opened my eyes. I could feel the bindings on my hands and cold air on my body. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I was able to see. I was in a horse-drawn carriage slowing moving on a downhill mountain road, with the horse thief and two other Nord men. I took a few moments to look around. I was in the second carriage in a large caravan of prisoners transports escorted by Imperial soldiers. The surroundings were a snowy forest full of pine trees on rocky outcrops. There is no shortage of mountains in this realm of Skyrim. There was mist in the air and it appeared to be early morning. I must have been out for an entire day. I thought of Raccan, Kalort and Ennah and hoped that they had safely gotten out of town and was on the road to Hammerfell. And Joldi… I needed to put aside such thoughts and concentrate on getting out of my current situation.

"Hey , you. You're finally awake," the Nord sitting across from me said as he noticed me moving. He had blond hair with one braid hanging on the left front of his face. "You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us, and that thief over there."

I didn't respond and turned to look at the thief sitting across from me and next to the Nord. He had short brown hair and pretty much was wearing rags, details that I had missed earlier. Most likely due to my state of exhaustion at the time but my mind was clear now. I smelled the smoke on my clothes and realized that I must look even worse than the horse thief. I had holes burned into my clothes, rags on my feet, dirt and ash covering me everywhere. I felt my hard, left nipple sticking through a hole in my top and I leaned slightly forward to let the fabric fall and relocate the hole.

"Dam you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along." the thief exclaimed. "Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and be half way to Hammerfell. You there," he looked at me. "You and me. We shouldn't be here. It's those Stormcloaks the Empire wants."

A large scale Imperial ambush to capture the Stormcloaks must have taken place close to the Inn, I thought.

"We're all brothers and sisters in binds now, thief," the blond Nord pointed out.

"Shut up back there!" an Imperial Soldier hissed.

Ignoring the soldier the thief said, "And what's wrong with him, huh?" The thief turned to the Nord across from him and next to me, as if expecting an answer. It's not like the Nord could give him an answer, his mouth was bound closed.

"Watch your tongue. You're speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak, the true High King," the blond Nord warned the thief.

I took a closer look at this Ulfric, "High King", Nord wearing black chain mail and a large black cloak. He didn't seem to move at all, like a large statue, just staring straight in front of him past the thief. I think that he was in a completely different place in his mind and was not currently with us in the carriage.

"Ulfric? The Jarl of Winderhelm? You're the leader of the rebellion. But if they've captured you... Oh gods, where are they taking us?", said the thief.

So this was the leader of the rebel forces against the Empire in the Skyrim civil war that I had heard about and thought would have opportunities for a resourceful trader. He indeed looked like a warrior.

"I don't know where we're going, but Sovngarde awaits.", said the blond Nord.

"No, this can't be happening. This isn't happening.", replied the thief.

"Hey, what village are you from, horse thief?", questioned the Nord.

"Why do you care?", exclaimed the thief.

"A Nord's last thoughts should be of home.", solemnly replied the Nord.

"Rorikstead. I'm... I'm from Rorikstead.", dolefully answered the thief.

The air temperature was rising as we traveled down the road and there was almost no snow in the trees or on the ground. My torn and light clothes were little protection from the cold and now I was starting to feel some warmth.

The caravan had arrived at the stone walls and large wooden gates to a city. The gates opened such that the caravan didn't have to slow. With my hands bound, I could not work any magic and the only weapons around were with the Imperial soldiers. There were too many soldiers around for any escape that I could devise to work.

"General Tullius, sir! The headsman is waiting!" an Imperial Soldier called from inside the city.

"Good. Let's get this over with," the man who must have been General Tullius spoke.

"Shor, Mara, Diabella, Kynareth, Akatosh. Divines, please help me," the thief frowned.

Our carriage had entered through the gates and headed left on the road. The city had well-constructed stone walls and towers also it was orderly and basic. Most likely an Imperial stronghold I thought.

"Look at him, General Tullius the Military Governor," the blond Nord scowled as we turned on the road and I saw him sitting on a horse in the road to our right. There were the three Thalmor that I had seen yesterday on the street beside Tullius.

"And it looks like the Thalmor are with him. Dam elves. I bet they had something to do with this." said the Nord.

I knew dam well that the Thalmor were involved and kept that to myself. I wasn't going to interrupt the Nord while he was giving out so much information. Besides I was looking for possible escape opportunities.

The Nord paused and took a look around. "This is Helgen. I used to be sweet on a girl from here. Wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries mixed in. Funny, when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe."

I thought of Joldi and quickly pushed it aside. I had to stay focused.

We passed one of the houses in Helgen. A kid and his mother and father stood on the porch.

"Who are they, daddy?" he asked his father. "Where are they going?"

"You need to go inside, little cub," his father said with a growl.

"Why? I want to watch the soldiers.", the kid pleaded.

"Inside the house. Now.", growled the father.

"Yes father," the child sighed.

"Whoa!" the Imperial Soldier driving our carriage exclaimed. We had stopped in a round open area with high stone walls and towers around it. Close to the tower farthest from me was a large man dressed in black with a mask on. The Headsman.

The Imperial's plan apparently did not include trial or imprisonment!

"Get these prisoners out of the carts. Move it!" a female Imperial Captain commanded the soldiers.

"Why are we stopping?" the thief asked. I could tell from the tone of his voice that he already knew the answer.

"Why do you think?" the blond Nord turned to face us. "End of the line. Let's go. Shouldn't keep the gods waiting for us." Everyone got up and began to get off the carriage.

"No! Wait! We're not rebels!" the thief panicked.

"Face your death with some courage, thief." the blond Nord instructed as I jumped out of the carriage.

"You've got to tell them! We weren't with you! This was a mistake!", the thief pleaded to the Nord.

The thief and I indeed were not rebels but I didn't think that the Nord would be listened to by the Imperials.

"Step towards the block when we call your name. One at a time," the Imperial Captain commanded.

So this is going to be mass executions! Answer to your name and be liberated of your head, I thought.

"Empire loves their damned lists," the blond Nord hissed, next to me.

Indeed, the Imperials are planning on marking each person off their Stormcloak list as they die. How very efficient of them, I thought.

"Ulfric Stormcloak. Jarl of Windhelm," the Imperial Soldier next to the Captain began to read the list. Ulfric walked towards the block.

"It has been an honor, Jarl Ulfric!", said the blonde Nord.

"Ralof of Riverwood," the soldier continued. The blonde Nord that was next to me left for the block.

"Lokir of Rorikstead."

"No, I'm not a rebel," the thief ran up to the soldier. "You can't do this!" He turned and started sprinting down the road towards the way we came in to Helgen.

"Halt!" the Captain screeched.

"You're not going to kill me!", yelled the thief, Lokir.

"Archers!", the Captain commanded. Lokir had only run a few yards when he was shot dead. "Anyone else feel like running?", asked the Captain.

"Wait. You there," the soldier looked right at me. "Step forward." I took a few steps toward him. I felt his gaze burn into me. "Who... are you?"

"I am Jessica Zar from Hammerfell," I stated.

"What're you doing here, Redguard? You a sellsword? A sailor from Stros M'Kai?", the soldier said a little loudly.

I thought that he might be saying this to point out that I do not look like a rebel and that I am Redguard not Nord as most Stormcloaks. Maybe he realizes that I, like Lokir were here by mistake. Maybe he doesn't want another innocent person killed. All these things, I hoped because there was no escape that I could devise that even had a small chance of working.

"You picked a bad time to come to Skyrim, Redguard," the soldier frowned. "Captain, what should we do? She's not on the list."

Maybe the Captain will realize the mistake and release me, I thought.

" Hadvar forget the list. She goes to the block," the Imperial Captain commanded.

"By your orders, Captain," Hadvar replied, turning towards me. ""I'm sorry. We'll make sure your remains are returned to Hammerfell, Follow the Captain, prisoner."

The Imperial Captain walked over to the block and I followed. I saw no opportunity for escape. Thanks to Lokir the archers were still on alert.

General Tullius had walked up to Ulfric. "Ulfric Stormcloak, so I'm hearing Helgen call you a hero," General Tullius growled, "but a hero doesn't use a power like a voice to murder his king and usurp his throne. You started this war! Plunged Skyrim into chaos! And now the Empire is going to put you down and restore peace."

I thought, so this is why Ulfric is gagged. He has some power or magic of voice powerful enough to murder someone. Is there a way that I can remove his gag and stir things up enough to escape?

There was a loud noise that sounded like a roar from a beast.

"What was that?" a soldier asked.

"It's nothing, carry on.", said Tullius.

"Yes!" the Captain exclaimed. "Give them their last rights."

"As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the Eight Divines upon you, for you are the salt and earth of Nirn, our beloved-" a priestess of Arkay started.

"For the love of Talos! Shut up and let's get this over with!", said a Stormcloak soldier as he stomped up to the block.

"As you wish.", said the Captain.

People seemed stunned by his willingness to die so they just stood and waited. Taking someone's life in battle is one thing but I have never attended any executions because that makes it entertainment which is wrong.

"Come on! I haven't got all morning," he hissed at the Imperial Captain.

She shoved the Stormcloak soldier down and held him on the block with her foot on his back. "My ancestors are smiling at me, Imperials. Can you say the same?", said the Stormcloak soldier.

Before anyone could answer, the Headman's axe swung and the soldier's head fell into a basket. This Headsman was a brute with a large heavy axe. At least it was quick and clean. I had read in one of my many books that heads cut off quick and clean would often blink and move their eyes, even try to speak. It was thought that the mind keep thinking for several minutes before actually dying. Some evil people were known to hold up the head so that it could see it's headless body.

"You Imperial bastards!" a female Stormcloak shrieked.

"Justice!" an Imperial soldier howled. "Death to the Stormcloaks!", said another.

"As fearless in death as he was in life," Ralof, commented.

"Next, the Redgaurd!" the Captain yelled. I heard another roar. This time I was sure it was coming from some beast.

"There it is again," someone said. "Did you hear that?"

"I said, NEXT PRISONER!" the Captain growled.

"To the block, prisoner. Nice and easy," a soldier instructed me.

I stumbled up to the block and was shoved down. The side of my face collided with stone and I began to feel a burning sensation. So this was how my life would come to its end. Beheaded over a misunderstanding and used as a pawn in a game that I didn't even know was being played. I decided that my mind would be filled with thoughts of Joldi as it was separated from my body. I started to relive our night together and felt the smile on my face. From where I lay, I could see the top of a large stone tower in front of me. Some large beast flew by, letting out a loud roar. The sight and sound barely registered in my mind, so intensely was I thinking of Joldi.

"What in Oblivion is that?!" the Headsman stopped and looked up.

"Sentry, what do you see?" the Imperial Captain asked.

"It's in the town!" someone screamed as the beast landed on the tower in front of me. The beast's brilliant red eyes glared down into mine. It was a huge black scaled beast with wings that spread out way past the sides of the tower. This brought my mind fully back into the world and I glared back at the beast.

"Dragon!" the Captian said while unsheathing her sword.

The beast opened its mouth and I thought it spoke three unrecognizable words and a blast came out that knocked me hard off the block and onto the ground. I hit so hard that my vision blurred and I was almost knocked out. All I could hear was a deafening roar and the rumble of a collapsing stones behind me.

Then everyone in Helgen was sent into a panic as the tower behind me collapsed. I just lay on the ground, stunned. It took a second to piece together what was happening and for my eyes to focus. The dragon's eyes met with mine a second time and another roar pierced the air. I was sure I was its next target.

With my execution stopped and the guards in chaos, I saw my first opportunity to escape custody and the Dragon. How could there be a Dragon? They were just myth. I had read some old books that talked about them as being real but I never believed that.

Ralof was desperately yelling at me to get up. "Redguard come on this is our chance!", yelled Ralof.

I got up quickly and ran with Ralof towards the closest tower. Fearing to look back to see the Dragon deal a death blow to me.

Inside there was several Stormcloak soldiers and Ulfric Stormcloak, who must have also escaped in the panic caused by the Dragon.

Ralof asked Ulfric, "What is that thing? Can the legends be true?"

Ulfric replied, "Legends don't burn down villages."

Ralof and I ran past them and started to climb the stairs. He looked at me and said, "With me up the tower!"

We ran up the stairs and came upon a Stormcloak soldier trying to move some rubble blocking the stair and gain access to the rest of the tower. We started to move to help but stopped when we heard some loud strange words. A hole was blasted through the outer wall by the Dragon with the same power or magic that I saw it use before. The large stones of the wall went flying, killing the soldier and barely missing Ralof and I. The Dragon hovered by the hole and breathed fire down into the tower and flew off. The flames missed us but the heat was intense. I was sure that I would have a burn like I had been lying in the desert sun all day.

Ralof instructed me to jump out of the tower through the hole in the wall and into a hole in the roof of a nearby building, promising that he will meet up with me when he could. His suggestion made tactical sense to me. It would be better to not be high were the Dragon was flying but low and out of sight.

I jumped down and was barely able to make the landing with my hands still bound. The pain of the impact shot through my body. I found myself in a small Inn. I could see the Dragon attacking through the holes in the building. It was circling the city and diving down to make aggressive attacks. I could hear it blasting with its voice and breathing fire destroying everything in its path. I needed to keep moving! I ran through the room and saw that the stairs to the lower floor were destroyed. I jumped down and again barely made the landing. I needed to get the bindings off my hands but if I stopped moving, I knew the Dragon would find me. I ran through the rooms and exited the Inn through a wall that was only half intact. I was out in the street.

The city of Helgen had become very heavily damaged in quite a short time, with many buildings ruined and burning. The fire looked strange, just like at Joldi's Inn, I realized. The implications shocked my mind but I had my very survival to concern myself with and that meant to keep moving.

The defending Imperial soldiers were caught up in the battle with the Dragon and were too busy to take any notice of me. I ran a short distance down the street and encountered Hadvar. He was attempting to rush civilians to safety.

With a ground shaking thud and rush of air the Dragon landed in the street not far from me. An injured Nord was right in front of it. He was instantly killed by the dragon's fire breath. The Dragon breathed fire down the street and took back to flight. The burned Nord's son, cried "Get up, papa! Get up!" and Hadvar yelled out to the child to get to safety. He then called to a nearby Imperial soldier, "Gunnar, take care of the boy. I have to find General Tullius and join the defense."

Seeing me, Hadvar ran over and said, "Still alive prisoner, come with me to stay that way."

We ran across the street toward the burning remains of some buildings. I followed him to a stone wall just taller than arms reach. He instructed, "Run close to the wall."

We had gone a short distance along the wall when the Dragon landed on it. The rush of wind had pushed us down and we stayed crouched down. Next to my head was a huge talon of one of the toes of the Dragon's foot that was grinding into the stone of the wall. Directly above me was the underside of the beast. Its scales moving out as it took in a breath and then they fell closer to its body as the Dragon breathed its fire down over the ruined buildings in front of us, at targets on the other side. It then launched itself off the wall and into the air, throwing parts of the wall from its feet.

I thought a prayer, "Ancestors, I have never asked for anything but if you have any power to help me now is the time to do so."

We ran through the burning remains of the buildings in front of us and out into an open area. There several Imperial archers and mages were attacking the Dragon as it circled above.

Hadvar yelled, "Into the Keep! Soldiers, Townspeople, Everyone, Into the Keep!"

The archers and mages continued attacking the Dragon to make a stand in order to allow as many people as possible to get to the Keep.

Hadvar said, "It's you and me prisoner, stay close."

We ran across the open area and through an arch into another court yard. I heard a loud noise behind me and felt the ground shake. I looked over my shoulder as I was running and saw that the Dragon had landed in the open area that we had just left. The brave last stand of the archers and mages was a short one.

He led me towards what was obviously Helgen's Imperial Keep. I thought that being around Imperials was a bad idea but tactically the Keep seemed to be the strongest structure around and might withstand the blast and fire from the Dragon so I ran with him. We had been desperately running through the city trying to find safety and escape from the Dragon and this was the only option.

At the entrance to the Keep, I saw Ralof. Hadvar had stopped beside him and was waiting for me.

"Ralof, you dam traitor get out of my way!", yelled Hadvar.

"We're escaping Hadvar and you are not stopping us this time!", Ralof yelled back.

"Fine, I hope that Dragon takes you all to Sovngarde!", replied Hadvar.

Both men looked at me and wanted me to follow them into the Keep. I had to choose whom to accompany and quickly.

I was running for my life and didn't have time to think this over. I owed both men my life but made my decision completely on instinct. I went with Ralof and entered the Keep through the door on my right, while Hadvar entered the Keep through the door on the left.

We ran into a round room with two doors on opposite walls and only one piece of furniture, a small table. Beside the table, on the floor, was the body of a Stormcloak solider. Ralof walked over to the body and said, "We will meet again in Sovngarde brother".

Ralof turned to me and said, "Looks like we are the only ones that made it."

He continued, "That thing was a Dragon, no doubt, just like the children's stories, and the legend. The harbingers of the end times."

I could hear the Dragon still attacking the city even through the thick stone walls. We were not safe and did not have time to think about stories or legends.

"We better get moving. Come here and I will cut your binds off.", Ralof said.

He cut the binds off with a dagger and said, "There you go".

At last my hands were free! That in itself made me feel much better, and no longer helpless. I shot a small lightning ball from my right hand. Ralof looked at me with surprise and then a smile. I smiled back and said, "Now I can defend myself".

Ralof pointed to the soldier and said, "You might as well take Gunjar's gear. Take his armor or anything else on him".

I gently searched through Gunjar's gear. His rough spun tunic was too big but I put it on over my clothes. His Stormcloak cuirass and fur boots were both also be too big so I left them. He did have a very nicely constructed and good sized backpack which I put on. Lastly I picked up his iron war axe.

While I was equipping myself, Ralof was examining the doors. He said that this iron bar door is locked, and then said this one is a gate that can't be opened from this side.

We were stuck. Perhaps I had made a tactically unwise choice to follow Ralof. Hadvar would know this Keep and likely been able to open its doors.

I turned and saw Ralof looking through the wooden gate. Then he suddenly jumped to the side of the gate and crouched close to the wall. I heard voices coming from the other side of the gate. I quickly moved to the opposite side of the gate from Ralof and crouched close to the wall.

I was ready to dash through the gate behind the approaching people after they opened it. Listening to the voices, I recognized the female Imperial Captain's voice as she was giving orders. Ralof pulled his sword just as the gate opened. He meant to ambush them!

I caught the Captain from behind with the war axe in the back of the leg then stood up and came across the back of her neck as she stated falling to one knee. She pulled her sword, turned her torso and looked up to attack. I buried the axe into the front of her neck. I kicked her body in the chest to free the axe. I looked over at the fight next to me in time to see Ralof pulling his sword out of the chest of an Imperial soldier.

He looked at me with a look of surprise even more obvious on his face than his last similar look. He then smiled much larger than his former one and nodded. Men have commonly under-estimated my combat skills and I have taken advantage of that on many occasions.

Ralof went through the now open gate and down the hall out of sight. He yelled back that it was clear but that there was no way out.

I started searching the Imperial Captain and found a key. Ralof came back into the room and I gave him the key and told him to try it on the locked door while I better equipped myself. The Captain was just slightly taller than me and being female, I thought that I could wear her armor. I took off all of the Captain's armor and searched her belongings.

The room shook and I could hear the Dragon blasting outside. Ralof said that the key opened the door on the other side of the room. He was standing by the door. I gathered up everything from the Captain and told Ralof to give me a minute to put on some armor and that I would join him. I went through the gate the Captain had come through and went just out of sight of the room.

I took off all my clothes and put on the Captain's gear. I put on the Imperial armor, boots, bracers and helmet. They were all in perfect condition, except for the blood and were a usable fit. I looked at all the rest of the gear spread out on the floor. Out of the pile I pulled out a compass, a map, gold coins, and Gunjar's war axe and put them in the backpack. Picking up the Imperial Sword and Gunjar's tunic I ran back into the room. I used the tunic to spit clean my face as I ran to Ralof and followed him through the door.

The hall turned instantly left and there were wide, stone, circular steps going down. Vibrations shook the floor and I heard another roar and blast from the Dragon. I was sure it was attacking the Keep.

We ran down the stairs. It got cooler and darker as we descended. We stopped at the bottom of the stairs to let our eyes adjust to the low light. There were just a few lit torches on the stone, right turning, circular walls that were spaced far apart that provided just enough light to see. There was a cool mist in the air.

At the far end of the passage, just as it curved out of sight, I thought I saw the outlines of two people. I looked over to Ralof and he nodded and raised his sword. We ran down the passage toward the figures.

We had covered half the distance to the figures when we heard the sound of a Dragon blast and the ceiling of the passage collapsed in front of us with a thick cloud of dust and loud rumble that echoed down the passage. We stood still, coughing, until the dust settled down some and we could see.

There was an open door on the left with light coming out into the passage. We cautiously moved toward the door.

Out from the door was light double the brightness of the passage, warm air and the sounds of people moving around. Ralof suddenly dashed into the room and I followed.

We caught two Imperial soldiers by surprise as they were gathering up supplies. Ralof moved without hesitation and attacked them. It was a quick and easy skirmish. I really liked the feel of the Imperial sword! I could tell by his change in fighting style that Ralof trusted my fighting skills to hold my own and cover him as well. I could tell that he was a seasoned warrior and very good with a blade. Together we made a deadly team.

Looking around I realized this was a storage room. There was a fireplace on one wall, shelves on another and storage barrels lining the other walls. In the center were tables and chairs. Ralof advised that we quickly go through some of the barrels for any supplies they might contain.

I started quickly walking through the room and picking up items that got my attention. I grabbed raw meat, spices and potatoes from by the fireplace and put them in my backpack. I snatched some potions off a table and put them in the backpack. Then I got a few tomatoes out of a barrel and ate them. The meal at the Inn was the last food that I had eaten and now my hunger was making itself known. I took a couple bottles of wine and tossed them in the backpack. On the way out of the other side of the storage room was a book in a small book case. I read the title on the front. Nightinggales: Fact or Fiction, it read, and since I hadn't read it, I put it in the backpack.

I passed Ralof as he was looking in a barrel and he looked up and asked, "Done, Let's get moving!"

We went down a wide hall to another set of stairs going down. We went down the stairs without incident. The walls of the stairs where rough cut out of natural rock. The air temperature was just noticeably cooler. As we stood at the bottom of the steps I realized that I could just barley hear the Dragon and did not feel any vibrations in the floor. Had we gotten deep enough into the mountain that we were out of its reach?

Just ahead on the right, I could see light on the floor from an open door. I couldn't see into the room. I heard a yell from the room and also the sounds of metal striking metal. From the sounds, I knew a fight had started. Ralof was already running toward the door.

He is fearless but to the point of recklessness. Every fight, he has instantly plunged into, without any assessment. I am then forced to follow. Now I will be entering a room with no knowledge of what we will encounter inside.

I followed Ralof into the room ready to fight. I noticed two male Imperials fighting a female and male Stormcloak. The Imperial fighting the male had just delivered a death blow to his chest and was getting ready to help his comrade fight the female Stormcloak.

Ralof assisted the female Stormcloak and I cut off the other Imperial before he was in range of the female. I made quick work of him. His fighting skills were not good and he was slow. He wasn't able to block or dodge my first thrust to his head and he died instantly. I turned and saw Ralof and the female Stormcloak both thrust their swords through the Imperial. Ralof from one side and the Stormcloak from the other both expertly striking between the armor plates.

The woman Stormcloak gave me a questioning look. Ralof said, "She is with me. She killed the Imperial Captain and took her armor." I asked, "Have any other Stormcloak soldiers made it this far?" She replied, "I am the last still alive." "What happened here?", I asked. "The Interrogator was engaged in a talk with his assistant over the fact that they were not going to flee and would stay here and keep to their work. We sneaked in the door but the assistant saw us and yelled out.", she said. Ralof told her, "You should join us. Together we have a better chance to get out of this alive." The Stormcloak soldier replied, "I am with you."

The soldier started gathering some items from her fallen comrade. Ralof was looking around the room. I looked through the belongings of the Interrogator and his assistant. I took their gold coins, potions and weapons and added the items to my backpack. I was starting to feel the weight of the pack but these items could be very useful. If it starts slowing me down later then I will discard some items.

I heard Ralof say, "Hey look over here." I looked over to Ralof, he was pointing to the middle cage of three cages on the wall opposite me . I walked over and inside the locked cage are a dead mage and several valuables. Ralof offered me several lock picks and said, "You should see if you can open the cage and retrieve those items, they might be useful. Also you might want to check out this room for other things that we could use." He waived the soldier over to him and continued, "We will scout ahead. Be quick and catch up to us."

I thought to myself that he must have found the lock picks in the storage room. I assumed that he was not able to pick locks and therefore gave the picks to me. Good thing that I do know a little about picking locks. It was a simple lock and I had it opened in seconds. I searched the mage and cage. Into the pack went a Spell Tome, gold coin, and some potions.

I made a quick sweep of the room and started to be disgusted by it. This interrogation room was really a torture room. There was a decayed body in a hanging cage, fingers and blood on the floor and other signs that many people had been severely tortured and killed here. The existence of a room like this was disturbing and makes me question the morals of the Imperials.

In the back corner of the room, there was a large cage with furniture. This was the Tortures office. I found a few weapons, books and gold coins that went in the pack but my best find was an iron shield and steel dagger. Now I felt well equipped and prepared for a fight. I thought about the books in my pack that I had almost instinctually put there. I must be feeling optimistic if I think that I may actually be able to read them.

I ran out of the room and into a downward sloping, hall sized, tunnel that was very roughly cut out of natural rock. The further down under this Keep that I travel, there is less and less efforts that have been put into its construction.

The floor leveled out. Along the walls on each side there was small, prison cells chiseled out of the rock each with an iron bar door. I ran by the cells looking into each one. I stopped by one because I saw the shape of a figure inside. Looking more closely, I realized it was a dead body. Ralof and the soldier ran up to me. Ralof looked into the cell and with a growl said, "Imperial dogs! There is nothing that is too low for them."

The female soldier said, "The way to the end of the cell block is clear, we should get moving." We ran down the tunnel and the floor slopped down at a steep angle. We quickly ran past another row of cells. The tunnel continued for a short distance and then I could see that it made a ninety degree turn to the left. Just before we turned the corner I stopped the soldier and Ralof by throwing my arms out and crouching. I heard voices.

"Orders are to wait till General Tullius arrives." a male voice said. A different male voice exclaimed, "I am not going to wait to be killed by a Dragon!" The first voice replied, "Just give the General some time."

Ralof sneaked past me around the corner despite me lowering my arm down to stop him. I peeked around the corner to see Ralof sneaking up behind an Imperial Archer with his back to us. The Stormcloak soldier moved next to me and leaned over me to peek around the corner.

This tunnel opened into a large natural cave but I could not see much of it because my sight was blocked by Ralof and the archer. Ralof crouching, sneaked up to the archer and then suddenly sprang up, grabbed the man across the mouth and plunged a dagger into his kidney. A good, no noise kill. Out came the dagger and another thrust into the man. Ralof caught the limp body and started dragging it backwards toward me.

From inside the cave I heard a man yell, "Stormcloaks!" Ralof dropped the body, and was pulling his sword. I then saw on the far side of the cave an archer that in Ralofs haste he had not noticed.

The Stormclaok woman and I rounded the corner to follow Ralof that had his sword in hand running into the cave. An arrow bounced off the wall next to my head. The archer across the cave had missed Ralof and had almost accidently gotten me.

I crouched down with the shield in front of me as the Stormclaok woman ran past me into the cave. I took the dead Imperial archer's long bow and quiver of arrows from him. An arrow struck and embedded into the top of the shield. I darted right with the shield in front of me and the archer embedded another arrow into my shield. I dropped the shield pulled up the bow and fired at the archer. The arrow hit him in his upper right leg and it was just enough to make him pull his bow down and his arrow hit the ground a couple of feet in front of me. I was already pulling back my next arrow and this time could take better aim. The archer fell with my arrow sticking out of his left eye.

I was on a terrace that ran along the back wall of the cave and had an arched bridge across a stream in the middle of it. The dead archer was directly across from me on the far side of the cave. From the terrace there was a set of stairs to my right that led to the natural cave floor. That was the path that Ralof and the Stormclaok woman had taken. They were next to the stream. Each had an opponent that they were in a sword fight with.

Across the cave was another terrace on the far side, across from the back wall where I was at. I saw movement from that terrace. Two Imperial archers were running to the terrace railing and looking down at the fight below.

They were pulling back their bows. I was already pulling an arrow and shot at the closest archer. Both archers let loose their arrows downward just as I let mine fly. My arrow hit my target in the stomach. I pulled another arrow and fired. This arrow found its mark in his neck and he was done.

An arrow glanced off the side of my helmet, ringing in my ears. The other archer was now firing at me and almost had a perfect head shot! I started running across the terrace toward the bridge and drawing my bow. The archer and I fired at the same time. His arrow barely missed my chest. The archer had started running around the terrace toward me and my arrow just missed his head. I was just slightly quicker on my redraw and got an arrow into his bow arm before he could fire. He was moving his bow to his left arm when my next arrow hit him in his right chest. I continued to run toward him, drawing my bow and was surprised to see that he was drawing back. He fired and I fired just after. His arrow was high and off to the left. Mine pierced his heart and he fell forward dead. I was lucky that he couldn't shoot well left handed.

I stopped on the terrace next to the first archer that I had killed and looked over. Ralof was standing watching me. Beside him were the bodies of two Imperial soldiers. A little off to his right laid the Stormcloak woman solider on her back. Ralof glanced at her and then back at me and shook his head from side to side. She had two arrows sticking out of her chest.

I walked around the terrace to some stairs and walked down to Ralof who was still watching me. I could feel the anger building in me. I saw that he had a slowly bleeding cut on his right upper arm. I asked, "You're bleeding. Are you alright?" I was hoping that showing some concern would calm me. He glanced at his arm and said, "It is shallow and of no importance."

Holding back my anger, I looked at the fallen Stormcloak woman and back at Ralof and said, "I strongly suggest that we make an assessment of future situations and devise a tactical plan of attack, together, before taking action!"

He looked surprised and hurt then his expression went blank. He said, "We have a Dragon at our backs and Imperials at every turn. We don't have the time for grand military planning!" I could feel my anger building again but I couldn't afford to let it get the better of me.

As calmly as I could, I said, "It would only take a couple of minutes to access a situation and make a basic attack plan and set the objective. This woman might not have died."

Ralof, I could tell he was holding some anger of his own now when he said, "The Dragon is on our heels, a soldier said that General Tullius was on his way, and he would not be alone. We must keep moving!" I said, "Point taken. I ask that we at least set an objective first."

Ralof looked at the Stromcloak woman and said. "She was a true Stormcloak soldier and was prepared to die to keep Skyrim free. Her ancestors are proud."

I said aloud, to myself, "I wish I knew her name." Then I said, "Ralof, I will search the archers, you search here and we will met at the exit of this cave."

Ralof replied, "Be quick."

I drank several hands of water from the stream as Ralof started searching the dead Imperial soldiers at his sides. My thirst and hunger were still paining me. I ran up the stairs and then around to all four of the archers and gathered items. I picked out the two best looking long bows from the four and collected every arrow and a couple of quivers to store them in. It was good to have a long range weapon and a bow is my weapon of choice. I waited for Ralof by the cave exit.

Ralof soon came running up to me. I held out a bow and quiver to him. He took the items. I hoped that he was skilled enough that he would use it. Use the bow and not run in recklessly was my hope.

The exit was a tunnel that was just tall and wide enough for two people to stand side by side, rough cut from the rock. Ralof took the lead and we ran a few yards through the tunnel when it ended suddenly with a wooden slat wall. There were foot prints on the wall. Ralof said, "Let's see what this does." as he pulled a lever on the floor.

The wall fell down and I realized that it was actually a long draw bridge over a deep pit. We started running across the draw bridge and were about three fourths of the way across when the bridge started to shake and we heard a rumble. I ran with everything that I had. We had both just landed a foot on the rock tunnel at the end of the bridge when the ground moved and we both almost fell. A dust cloud was rushing past us from behind and the sound of falling rock echoed down the tunnel. Then we heard the roar of the Dragon. I looked back and saw that the bridge was gone and there was dim light coming in from above the pit. I knew the ceiling had collapsed and crushed the bridge and left a hole to outside. I grabbed Ralof by the arm and pulled him to run. I was expecting the tunnel to fill with Dragon fire!

We ran down the tunnel as fast as we could. We ran through several turns until we had to stop to catch our breath. We both stood there breathing very hard. Our breathing was the only sound to be heard.

Ralof said, "No going back that way now. Might as well keep going on. The rest of them will have to find their own way out."

I replied, "But no Imperials will be following us."

We started walking down the dim lit tunnel. The floor of the tunnel started to gently slope down. I started thinking about this Keep. It was well thought out for defense. In a siege the Keep would have a secret route to the underground stream and the draw bridge could be raised to stop people from easily coming up from behind.

I told Ralof, "The draw bridge tells me that there must be a way out of here, we just have to find it."

Ralof replied, "We will get out of here."

The tunnel was getting to be very dark and I thought that we would have to feel the walls to move. Why hadn't I thought to make a torch? The floor of the tunnel leveled out and I could see light coming from the tunnel not far from us.

We walked out of the tunnel onto a small terrace. There was two standing fire pits on each end. Looking over the wall, I saw that we were in a small cave. To my right was stairs that ended in front of a small waterfall and stream. We walked down to the stream.

I sat on the gravel floor of the cave next to the stream and took off my backpack.

I asked Ralof, "Just a couple of minutes, please."

Ralof started wondering the cave.

I took a wine bottle out of my pack and poured it out on the ground. I then filled it with water from the stream and put it back in the pack. I took a couple of bites from a potato but it was too hard to eat more. I washed it down with some stream water. Pulling a strip of cloth from the pack, I wetted it in the stream and washed my arms and face. The water stung my skin some and I knew that I had a burn from the Dragon fire. I was wearing down. I could feel it. I took some of daggers and other metal stuff out of pack and left them on the floor. I put the pack on and stood up.

From the farthest side of the cave, Ralof called, "There is a way out through here."

We entered a passage that appeared to be cut into the rock from several lifetimes of the stream wearing the rock. It wasn't far before we saw that this passage was going into another more open space. We walked closer and then we could see that the passage lead into a large completely natural cavern. There was no signs of anything man made. I could hear running water and water dripping on rock but nothing else. There was dim light coming in as beams from the high domed ceiling, lighting up some areas but there were many dark areas as well. I saw some movement on the far side of the cavern. Something was moving but it was too far away and it didn't have a shape that I recognized.

"Do you see that?", I whispered.

Like a response to my voice, two other things seemed to materialize out of floor just a few yards from us. I pulled my bow from my back and was drawing an arrow.

"Frostbite Spiders!", Ralof exclaimed.

Spiders!, But it is too big. I thought.

But there stood three spiders at least twice the size of two men. Brown haired, with huge fangs, I was staring over my drawn arrow at the closet one.

Ralof pulled his sword and said, "Our objective and plan?"

I said, "Cover each other, don't die, and SQUASH THOSE DAM BUGS!", letting my arrow fly.

I hit the spider in the rear section. It barely flinched and kept running toward us along with the other two. Ralof ran past me sword swinging. I drew another arrow as quickly as I could and it hit the spider in the middle section and again it just barely flinched. Ralof was almost upon the other close spider.

He yelled, "Hit the eye!"

I thought, "Which eye? There are eight!"

My third shot, I buried the arrow in what looked to be the center most eye. It instantly fell dead.

Ralof was skillfully striking the head of the spider while avoiding its fangs and legs. Eight legs and two fangs were too much to defend against, all at the same time, I thought. I didn't want to get that close but I ran toward him drawing the bow as I went. Ralof found the opening in the spiders' defense and plunged his sword to the hilt into a center eye. My arrow hit an eye next to his strike, too late to do any good. Ralof looked over at me. I smiled and nodded my head to the side while drawing the bow.

I took aim at the last spider that was closing ground quick between it and Ralof. I had plenty of time to aim and it was a perfect and powerful shot into a center eye. The spider fell, flipped and spun over on its back from the momentum of its run. Ralof buried his sword into the underside of its head, too late to do any good. He looked back at me, and I couldn't stop a giggle.

I walked toward Ralof and a shadow came over him. I looked up to see a huge spider quickly descending from the ceiling directly above him. I yelled and Ralof looked up then yelled and pointed behind me. I turned to see another huge spider that had just finished riding a web strand from its rear, touch the cave floor. These spiders were half again bigger than the other three that we had just killed.

I got an arrow away but it hit in one of the spiders' legs. Then there were legs coming at me from every direction and those fangs striking down. I was using my bow to block over and over again. I would step and the spider would step to me. All I could do was defend. I couldn't get to any weapons. I would either make a mistake or my stamina would go. I would never give up but I didn't see how I could win.

Several times, one of the spiders' legs had almost pulled a leg out from under me. It was figuring out how to kill me and still all I could do was block. I was backing up attempting to get any space to open between me and the spider but every time it would press in. Then I backed into a large rock on the ground and felt myself falling backwards. I brought the bow up in front of me as I landed on my back. I blocked the thrusting fangs just inches from my chest. The bow broke in half. The spider stomped a leg on each side of my neck to keep me from rolling away and rose up on its legs to get its' body weight into the next fang strike. It would surely pierce my armor.

I grabbed onto each spider leg beside of me, with my hands and pushed with all my remaining strength. I pushed myself across the ground and under the spider as it came down on me. The side of its fangs scraped the inside of my arms and the fangs just missed the top of my head and impacted the ground. Its' body was crushing down on me.

My face was turned to the side and I heard the course hair of the spiders' underside scrapping my helmet. I let go of the spiders' legs and tried to get my arms down but I couldn't because the spiders' body was in the way. I started beating my fist into it. I saw one of the middle legs curl under toward me and felt a leg on my other side. The spider was holding me with its body and trying to get hold of me with a leg on each side.

The spider suddenly rose up and there were legs everywhere. Too many legs. The other spider had backed into the one attacking me and almost knocked it over. Both spiders were trying to get some footing and balance themselves. I managed to roll, crawl and jump clear of the thrashing legs. I pulled my sword and ran to the side to put some distance between the spiders and me. Ralof had his spider backing up trying to get away from him and it looked like some of its legs were limp.

I ran to aid him and saw the other spider get its balance facing away from us. I came at Ralofs' spider on its left side where the front leg was limp and dragging the ground. I put my sword into an eye and pulled it out. It was still moving! Ralof put out another eye and yet it was still moving. The spider backed away a few feet, collapsed and didn't move.

Ralof and I looked over the body of the dead spider and saw the other one looking at us. It was standing in place but swaying slightly from left to right. I didn't break my stare and pulled the shield from my back and put it on my left arm. From the corner of my eye I saw Ralof pull an axe into his left hand with his sword still in his right while also never breaking his stare with the spider.

A thought ran in my head. What if there was another spider lowering itself from the ceiling above us? I wanted to look but also didn't want to break the stare with the spider. I took in as much of my surroundings as I could without moving my eyes. I saw that Ralof and I were standing in a dim beam of light that was coming from directly above. I reasoned that it was a hole to the outside in the ceiling. Therefore if I saw a shadow come over us then I had reason for concern. But behind us was still an unknown.

Ralof started to walk to our left around the spider body in front of us, still staring at the spider that continued to sway from left to right. I started to walk to our right around the spider body without breaking my stare.

The thought of getting up close to the spider again was fearful. But this time I had weapons and Ralof was with me. Together we would attack this gruesome creature.

Ralof and I had both walked past the dead spider body and still our target had not done anything different. We continued to widen our distance apart so that we could attack it on the flanks.

Suddenly the spider jumped backwards and turned to me. It started moving toward me at the same time that I started running toward it. We crashed shield to fang and I got a short thrust with my sword into it next to the fang. Right after that, Ralof cut at the front leg closest to him with his axe and got a sword thrust between the other fang and an eye. The spider took a step back. I thought, "You have misjudged me as helpless prey. Now you face to well-armed predators." This thought gave me the courage to push aside my fears of this bug.

Ralof and I attacked for opposite sides and pressed our attacks, never giving the spider any quarter. It was almost completely on the defense with only occasionally striking out an attack. After several deep sword strikes into the area around its eyes, its movements were erratic and its defensive moves were slower. Ralof and I found it easy to get around its defenses and thrust our swords into its eyes. It was dead.

I stood still and looked around the cavern, including the high ceiling, for any signs of movement and more spiders.

Ralof asked, "Do you have a container for liquid?"

I took off my pack and located the stamina potion and held it out to Ralof.

He said, "I need it empty."

I drank the potion and could feel some strength returning to my aching limbs. I handed him the empty bottle. He held the bottle under one of the spiders' fangs and showed me how to move the fang and extract venom. He told me that this was good venom to put on arrow and blade edges to poison enemies. I took the container and extracted venom from each spider.

While I was getting the Frostbite Spider venom, I looked at my surroundings. There were spider webs and strands everywhere. I saw some large leather objects in a corner. Ralof commented that they were the egg sacks of the spiders.

"Look inside and see if there are any eggs, they are used in potions and have some value.", Ralof said.

I found a few and put them in my pack. Suspended from the ceiling was a large clump of web. When I got close, I realized it was a person wrapped in web. A fallen victim of the spiders.

I said, "Lets move on."

I found a passageway leading out of the cavern and motioned to Ralof. This passage was dome shaped and larger than the passage that had led us into the cavern. It occurred to me that the passage that led into the cavern might be too small for a grown spider to get through. The spiders would be a good deterrent that would keep people from coming into the Keep. I wondered if the Imperials had left the spiders here for that reason or if it had just been a long time since anyone used these passages and the spiders had made their nest.

The passage made a right turn and started slopping downward.

I said to Ralof, "You have fought these bugs before."

"They are common in Skyrim. They like caves mostly but I have seen them out in the wilderness.", Ralof replied.

I could hear running water. The passage led to a cavern that was longer than the spider nest one. We both stopped just inside the passage and crouched down to look into the very dim lit cavern. After everything that we had been through, even Ralof was being cautious.

There was a stream running the length of the cavern as far as I could see in the dim light. The ceiling was covered with pointed rocks hanging down like fangs. There weren't any webs or other out of place things. There was just rock, gravel and water. Still couching, we slowly ventured into the cavern.

Ralof took the lead. We followed the stream, staying low and quiet, looking for any dangers. As we went the cave would materialize out of the darkness. A couple of times we stopped because there was a shape that didn't look right but turned out to be just a rock formation.

Ralof said. "Hold up."

We stopped and Ralof pointed to the right at the end of our vision.

"There is a bear over there.", he whispered.

I could just make out the brown bear. It was resting, asleep maybe, lying on the ground.

Ralof whispered in my ear, "I don't know if I have the strength to fight this opponent. We can try to sneak past it."

I looked at him. He pulled the bow and quiver from his back and handed them to me.

He said, "Or ambush it, if you want to fight."

I put the quiver on my back and pulled a couple of arrows from it.

I whispered into Ralofs' ear, "This is just in case. We will try to pass by unnoticed."

We sneaked along moving slowly, watching every step, with our eyes constantly going from our steps to the bear and back.

The bear slowly rose and turned its head to look around. We froze in place. After a minute it rested back on the ground. We moved some more and again the bear rose. It walked around in a circle sniffing the air for a couple of minutes and rested again on the ground. We continued slowly moving and the cave curved to the right and finally we got out of a direct line of sight from the bear.

We continued on, still crouched, at a slightly faster pace. The cave had narrowed to a passage and curved right. After going around the turn we stood and both of us signed in relief. I felt cold air moving at my feet. Looking down the passage it was a little brighter and I could see snow being wind blown into the passage from a tall arrow shaped crevice. At the top of the crevice, looking through it, I saw a pine tree. This was the way out!

We quickly walked through the crevice to outside. The cold air struck fully on my entire body. It was newly night. There was a loud roar that instantly gave me a shiver. It was the Dragon!

Ralof and I dove next to a large boulder and crouched. The Black Dragon flew over our heads across the sky. It gained attitude and banked off to the right.

Ralof said, "Wait, there he goes."

We looked over the boulder and watched it fly out of sight until it was too small to see in the night sky.

Ralof said, "Looks like he's gone for good now."

We stood up and looked at each other.

Ralof said, "Who knows if anyone else made it out alive. This place is going to be swarming with Imperials soon enough. Better clear out of here."

We started quickly walking along a path that led down the mountain side. The wind wasn't as bad when we were not against the mountain face. We had gone some way down the path as it snaked down the mountain side when we came to a road. The temperature was getting warmer and the snow here was melting. Ralof walked onto the road and turned uphill.

Ralof spoke. "My sister Gerdur runs the mill in Riverwood just down the road. I am sure she would help you out. It's probably best that we split up. Good luck. I wouldn't have made it without your help today."

I hastily said, "Ralof, We do not have the strength to fight and although we might evade the Imperials easier on our own, if we get into a fight? In a fight we make a deadly team. We should not part yet."

He replied, "You know, you should go to Windhelm and join the fight to free Skyrim. You have seen the true face of the Imperials here today. If anyone will know what the coming of the Dragon means it's Ulfric."

I replied, "I will think about it. I don't know this country. Where is the closest, safe shelter?"

Ralof turned around to face down the road and said, "We will go to my sister."

We walked at a slightly faster than normal pace, because we had little strength left to run. The road was slopped down rather steeply. As we moved down the road it was good to feel the air warming and the wind was down to a gentle breeze. We were descending down a mountain to a valley with a lake. On my left, on a mountain, I noticed what looked to be the huge frame of a vaulted building.

Ralof said, "See those ruins up there? Bleak Falls Barrows. I never understood how my sister could live in the shadow of that place. I guess you get used to it."

For the first time in a couple of days, I was not in immediate danger of losing my life. I allowed my mind to follow its curiosity since Ralof might be in a talking mood.

I asked, "How did you end up as an Imperial prisoner?"

Ralof answered, "I was assigned to Ulfrics' guard. We were on our way to Dark Water Crossing in the south of East March. The Imperials were waiting for us. As pretty of ambush as I ever saw. We were outnumbered five to one at least. Ulfric ordered us to stop fighting. Didn't want us all to die for nothing, I guess. I thought they were taking us south to parade us in front of the Emperor but we stopped in Helgen, and you know the rest."

I then asked, "What do you know about Dragons? Was the Dragon on your side?"

Ralof replied, "Dragons have not been seen in Skyrim for an age now. I thought they were just legends. Dragon on our side? What, hardly. I don't think even Ulfric could pull a Dragon out of his pocket. Lucky for us it attacked when it did. Aye. I wasn't looking forward to getting a shave from the Imperial Headsman."

He was sounding more relaxed and cheerful so I continued and asked, "Who are the Stormcloaks?"

He said, "Surely even down in Hammerfell, people have heard news of the war in Skyrim. The Nords are tired of spending our blood fighting the Empires' wars and paying for the Empires' decadence with our taxes. Ulfric is our rightful High King. He is leading the fight to drive the Empire out of Skyrim, once and for all."

He continued, "You should come to Windhelm with me and join the fight to free Skyrim."

I asked, "You really think that I should join up Ulfric Stormcloak?"

"Dam right! You don't have to be a Nord to fight for the freedom of Skyrim.", he said.

I said, "Let me think about."

Ralof said, "Sure. Come on, I will feel better when we are undercover in Riverwood."

We walked for a distance and had slowed to a normal walk. The road was twisting down the hills at the base of the mountain. At one of the turns Ralof walked off the road to a circular stone paved base with three craved, standing stones that were about a foot taller than me.

"These are the Guardian Stones. Three of the thirteen ancient standing stones that dot Skyrims' landscape. Go ahead, see for yourself.", said Ralof.

I walked into the center of the stones and commented, "Interesting."

Ralof said, "These stones are enchanted and will give a blessing for the star sign that is craved into it. If you touch the stone of your choice you will be blessed with increased ability to improve your skills of that sign. You can only have one blessing at a time."

I looked at the stones and noticed the star signs. There was one for Stealth, one for Magic and one for Combat. I touched the one for combat. The star sign lit up with a blue light and a blue ball of energy appeared in the round hole craved through the top of the stone. Then I felt some energy run through me. It felt good.

Ralof said, "The Warrior Stone. Good choice. I too have that blessing."

We continued on the road until it came to the edge of a lake with a river running from it. The road was now level. We had reached the floor of the valley. Here the air was warm and a gentle breeze was blowing. Together they made the temperature perfect. This was a fertile valley with green plants and trees, teeming with life. I saw a couple of rabbits run across the road. Across the river was a large elk with an impressive set of horns. The road turned and followed the river.

Ralof had gotten a little in front of me on the road because I was admiring the scenery. The road we traveled before was barren, rocky and steep. This is a pleasant, alive and level road.

My pleasant thoughts were interrupted when I saw a wolf jump out of the grass beside the road and directly in front of Ralof. He was pulling his axe as I was pulling my bow.

The wolf circled around Ralof and he turned with it. Then I saw movement from the grass and saw two other wolves. The first wolf was distracting and turning Ralof so that his back would be facing the other two wolves. It was an ambush!

I fired the bow and landed an almost perfect headshot on the wolf closest to me in the grass. It instantly fell dead. Ralof was thrusting at the wolf in front of him with his axe but the wolf was staying out of range. The other wolf in the grass was now looking at me. My shot had alerted it to my presence. It started to run towards me. I fired an arrow and hit it in the shoulder. It stumbled but kept coming. I draw back and fired again. This time I had made another good headshot. The wolf fell to the road and rolled to my feet.

The wolf with Ralof had seen me fell the one in front of me and it turned away and started to run toward the grass. Ralof threw his axe into the side of the wolf and it fell. He ran over to the wolf and pulled his axe from it and struck it again in the head. It was dead.

We quickly and not very cleanly took the hide off the wolves. With three wolf pelts in my pack, we continued on the road.

Ralof said, "I am glad that you decided to come with me. We are almost to Riverwood."

I replied, "I am glad that we are still traveling together."

Looking around at the sides of the road and then down it, Ralof said, "Remember this is not Stormcloak territory. As long as we are ahead of the news of Helgen, we should be fine." With a humors tone he continued, "As long as we don't do anything stupid." Then back to his normal tone he said, "If we run into any Imperials just let me do the talking."

I nodded my head in agreement.

The road still followed the river into the valley. We walked for about thirty minutes when a tree trunk wall with wooden open gates could be seen. We had arrived at Riverwood. I estimated the time to be about 3 hours after dusk. We walked through the gates and I could see that Riverwood was a small village. We turned left following the wall, heading toward the river.

We came to a saw mill located on the river bank. I could hear the machinery of the mill running up on the second story of the open sided building.

The people at this mill appear to put in some long days, I thought.

Next to the mill a woman was walking toward us.

Ralof said, "Gerdar! Mothers mercy, it is good to see you."

Gerdar looked concerned. She said, "But is it safe for you to be here? We heard that Ulfric had been captured."

Ralof replied, "Gerdar, I'm fine. At least now I am."

Looking even more concerned Gerdar said, "Are you hurt? What happened?" 'And who is this? One of your comrades?", she asked looking at me.

Ralof answered, "Not a comrade yet, but a friend. I owe her my life. Is there somewhere we can talk? There is no telling when the news from Helgen will reach the Imperials."

Gerdar said, "Helgen, has something happened? You are right, follow me."

We started walking, following Gerdar, moving closer to the river.

She yelled up at the mill, "Hod come here a minute. I need your help with something."

A deep voice came back from the mill. "What is it woman? Stan drunk on the job again?"

Gerdar answered, "Hod, just come here."

A man appeared at the top of the stairs of the mill and looked down towards us.

He said, "Ralof. What are you doing here? I'll be right down."

We walked on the river bank right at the edge of the water and came to stop beside two large tree stumps. We were away from any buildings. Ralof sat on one of the stumps.

A boy came running over to our group. He ran up to Ralof.

The boy excitedly asked, "Uncle Ralof, can I see your axe? How many Imperials have you killed? Do you really know Ulfric Stormcloak?"

Gerdar said, "Hush. This is no time for your games. Go and watch the South road. Find us if you see any Imperial soldiers coming."

"Aahhhhh, momma. I want to stay and talk with Uncle Ralof.", the boy said.

Ralof smiled at the boy and said, "Look at you, almost a grown man. Won't be long before you'll be joining the fight yourself."

The boy cheerfully replied, "That's right Uncle Ralof. Don't worry. I won't let those Imperial soldiers sneak up on you." He then turned and ran off toward the village.

The man from the mill, Hod, joined us and said, "Now Ralof, what's going on? You two look pretty done in."

Ralof said, "Oh, I can't remember when I last slept. Where to start? Well the rumors about Ulfric are true. The Imperials ambushed us outside of Dark Water Crossing, like they knew exactly where we'd be. That was, ugh, two days ago now. We stopped in Helgen this morning. I thought it was all over. Had us lined up at the Headsmans' block and they started chopping."

Gerdar said, "The cowards!"

Ralof continued, "They wouldn't dare give Ulfric a fair trial. Treason for fighting for your own people. All of Skyrim would have seen the truth then! But then, out of nowhere, a Dragon attacked!"

Gerdar shocked, said, "You don't mean a real one …"

Looking at my sore arms, I said, "The fire it breathed was real enough."

Ralof continued, "I could hardly believe it myself and I was there. As strange as it sounds, we would be dead if not for that Dragon. In the confusion, we managed to slip away."

Gerdar said, "No one else has come up the south road today as far as I know."

Ralof replied, "Good. Maybe we can lie up for a while? I hate to put your family in danger, Gerdar but.."

Gerdar interrupted by saying, "Nonsense! You and your friend are welcome to stay here as long as you need. Let me worry about the Imperials. Any friend of Ralof is a friend of mine."

Gerdar turned to me and reached out with an open hand and said, "Here is a key to the house. Stay as long as you like. If there is anything else you need then take it."

I took the key and said, "You are very kind. I will earn my stay, if I can help in any way, just let me know."

Gerdar said, "There is something that you can do for me. The Jarl of Whiterun should know of this Dragon attack. Can you inform him? Ask him to send soldiers to protect Riverwood."

I replied, "I will but I need to rest first."

Ralof said, "Thank you, Gerdar."

Gerdar said, "I need to get back to work before I am missed but did anyone else escape? Ulfric?"

Ralof replied, "It would take more than a Dragon to stop Ulfric Stormcloak!"

Hod said, "I will let them into the house and you know, show them where everything is."

Gerdar with a half-smile, looked at Hod and said, "Ummm, help them drink up our mead you mean?" Looking to Ralof, she said, "Good luck brother. I will see you later."

Ralof replied, "Don't worry about me. I know how to lay low."

Gerdar started walking toward the mill. Ralof, Hod and I started walking toward the village.

We walked to the main road that went through the village. I looked up and down the road. This village appeared small with what I estimated to be about fifteen buildings. We crossed the main road and picked up a small road. We followed this road past a few buildings and then came to a fenced in yard with a small house.

Hod led us into the house and showed us the inside. It was a small, L shaped house that had no inside walls. Left of the door was a table and shelves of food. Ralof sat at the table and started to eat. In front of the door was the fireplace. To the right of the door, in the corner was a bed. Around the corner to the right into the lower part of the L shape, was another bed. Hod said that I could sleep there.

I sat on the bed, took my pack, shield, bow and quiver off my back and put everything on the floor. I pulled off my helmet, bracers and boots. I then lay on the bed. I remember thinking how tried and sore I felt then blackness. I was asleep.

A single stone tower stands in a field of brown and green grass. The grass is swaying in the breeze. A Dragon lands next to the tower and roars. It looks into my eyes, opens its' mouth.

I wake from this dream and slowly sit up in bed. I have that unique feeling that this is one of the visions that I will see again in my waking life.

It is rather dark in the house where I am, but the rest of the house is brighter with the light from the fireplace. I can see Hod, Gerdar and their son, all asleep in the bed. I must have slept around twelve hours or more. There is one candle on the table next to my bed that is almost about to burn out. I take it and light three candles on a single short stand. The light is bright next to me but it wouldn't be any brighter than the fireplace light on everyone in the other bed. I do not want to wake them. After all they had not waked me.

I get my pack from the floor and dumped the contents onto the bed then spread out the items. I see several healing potions and I drink one. I can feel it working on my body. These are minor potions and I drink two more. I felt the burn leaving my face and arms. I took a deep breath and let it out. I felt very good. I felt normal for the first time in days.

I picked up the Journal Book and started writing the amazing tale that takes me to here and now.

I will keep this Journal with me at all times. My entire life collection of Journals and books were lost in the fire at the Inn. Everything that I had acquired in my life was lost in that fire. Never have I been so destitute.

Joldi, sweet Joldi. What could I offer her now? I cannot go back to her, like this. We had only one night together. I know not her feelings nor am I sure of mine. Maybe after my situation improves, I could visit her. She has a good life and a future. I do not feel that she was lacking for anything. Maybe it would be best for her, if I didn't come back into her life. I should leave her to live a life that is secure and promising. I will move forward with living mine. Forward to where?

Where do I go from here?

Everything that I have is on this bed in front of me. I also don't have any ties or bounds either. As long as I am not being hunted by the Imperials then I am free to do what I wish. Never have I been so destitute but never have I been so free!

I have resolved to stay free. I will not burden my life with anything that I do not freely accept into it. I shall embrace who I am and be true to myself. I will forge my life from what the universe provides and I will prosper and thrive. This I give oath to myself.


End file.
